Deloitte Highlights Israel's Rise as 'Blockchain Hotspot'

A new report from global professional services firm Deloitte focuses on Israel's development into a blockchain hub, outlining the work of a number of startups working on distributed ledger solutions across a variety of industries.

"The country’s unique experience with FinTech, cyber and cryptography, has positioned Israel as a hotspot for blockchain innovation," Deloitte says.

The report provides an overview of blockchain technology and its use cases and introduces 38 young firms that it believes are "leading the blockchain revolution" in the Middle Eastern nation.

Each firm's blockchain focus and business model is profiled, along with information such as its managing executives, staff figures and funding to date.

A bridge to blockchain

The report comes at a time when Deloitte is become increasingly engaged in the global blockchain industry, and predicting that 2016 will be the year in which the technology will start "making waves".

As well as a number of reports and surveys on blockchain topics, the 'Big Four' professional services firm has announced several projects that have moved it into the blockchain space.

In October 2015, Tel Aviv-based 'coloured coins' startup Colu revealed it was embarking on a partnership with Deloitte.

The company itself has also set up its own blockchain project to move it further into the industry. Called Rubix, the service is described as a "one-stop blockchain software platform", aimed to help mainstream financial institutions launch pilots and proofs-of-concept with the emerging technology.